§ Simon HughesTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the total of unpaid council tax in Greater London, broken down by borough, in each year since 1997. [170502]
§ Mr. RaynsfordTabled are figures for the amounts of council tax payable for each financial year from 1996–97 to 2002–03 that had not been collected by the end of the year to which they related.
101W
Amounts of council tax uncollected at the end of the financial year £ thousand 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 Richmond upon Thames 1,564 1,507 2,187 2,100 2,134 1,886 2,040 Sutton 720 1,039 1,323 1,303 1,366 1,553 1,673 Waltham Forest 3,378 3,738 5,659 6,066 6,357 5,313 4,141 Total Outer London 57,060 59,585 64,009 72,243 71,668 70,245 72,864 Total Greater London 116,602 116,546 121,744 132,875 132,233 126,506 127,462 1Amounts relate only to the financial year shown: arrears carried forward from earlier years are not therefore included. In addition, the total level of council tax arrears includes amounts uncollected from previous years. Reliable figures for these are not currently available for individual local authorities. It is estimated, however, that nationally, the level of arrears carried forward from previous years is currently equal to approximately twice the amount not collected in-year.